The Blue Sky team cuts the ribbon outside of its laboratory at the U of L Science Commons building on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 as Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen looks on. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet with files from David Opinko

Analytics lab marks grand opening at U of L Science Commons building

May 11, 2022 | 12:17 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – It was a special morning at the University of Lethbridge Wednesday.

It marked the grand opening of Blue Sky Analytical Labs, which operates out of the U of L’s Science Commons building.

President Ross Tisdale explained that the company provides analytical services for various types of organizations from near and far. He explained, “People will send us a sample of varying materials, everything from water to cannabis, and we tell them what’s in it.”

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Testing is an integral part of the approval process for any grower. Blue Sky is licensed by Health Canada to conduct compliance testing for the federal agency.

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Tisdale said, “Every time a grower grows a crop, it will need to be tested for a variety of things to ensure its safety before it can go to market and that’s a service that we offer at Blue Sky.”

He noted that usually, there are specific things producers are looking for.

Tisdale said, “When it comes to cannabis, it would be THC, CBD potency, microbial contaminations, pesticides, and heavy metals.”

“When it comes to water, it’s primarily going to be microbial contaminations again, and there’s also work looking for chlorine and turbidity.”

He noted that the Blue Sky team has already worked with a variety of clients, ranging from engineering companies to food manufacturers and agricultural organizations, with the samples being tested at the U of L facility. Tisdale remarked, “It’s been very welcoming to see so many different industries reach out to us before we even started reaching out to them.”

He added that there is one other company in Lethbridge that offers analytical services.

Down to Earth Labs primarily focuses on soil sampling, while Blue Sky focuses more on cannabis and water. Tisdale said there is not much competition between the two companies. In fact, he said there is actually a lot of collaboration between the two laboratories.

Blue Sky has been active since April of 2021, but Wednesday marked a monumental occasion with the ribbon-cutting at its laboratory in the U of L Science Commons building.

On why they set up shop at the local post-secondary, Tisdale said, “This beautiful facility that was built houses all of the equipment that we need right inside, so it really just made sense.”

Jackson Knott is the Lab Manager for Blue Sky. He said the Science Commons site offers a wide array of instrumentation and provides “An opportunity you really aren’t going to find anywhere else.”

Knott added that Southern Alberta is a perfect spot for the company’s operations, “Especially being in such an agricultural hub, there’s tons of tests that need to be done to maintain that agricultural production and having all of that sent up to Calgary, I think, really shows the type of demand for these services in Lethbridge.”

Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen was on hand for the ribbon-cutting and said he is sure local agricultural producers will be happy to have a service like what Blue Sky offers close to home.

Hyggen said, “Agriculture, this is kind of the heartbeat of Southern Alberta, so to have a facility like this based in Lethbridge, [a] world-class facility, is just amazing. It’s super exciting.”

Hyggen believes the growth of facilities in the region like Blue Sky could potentially lead to even more agricultural organizations setting up shop in the local community.

More information can be found at the Blue Sky Analytical Labs website.

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